A former Cambridge University academic and its youngest Black professor, Jason Arday who died in August amid a plagiarism scandal, has reportedly been cleared of plagiarism.
An investigation by scientific publisher Taylor & Francis concluded without substantiating the plagiarism allegations against Mr Arday.
According to London-based media outlet Byline Times, the publisher reviewed the late academic’s research papers and found no evidence to substantiate claims of data fabrication or plagiarism.
The latest inquiry was not the first formal investigation into allegations of plagiarism in Mr Arday’s work.
Liverpool John Moores University recently reviewed and cleared Mr Arday’s 2015 PhD thesis of plagiarism, concluding that minor attribution errors were honest mistakes rather than intentional deception.
The latest investigation came months after Mr Arday, 41, was found unresponsive at an apartment in London in August and later pronounced dead.
The late academic resigned on August 5, shortly after Cambridge University announced that the institution would investigate him over new information that put his “academic qualifications and honorary appointments” in a new light.
His family said the academic “was subjected to a campaign of sustained abuse for more than three years since he accepted the role of professor at Cambridge University by those who would leave no stone unturned in their quest to undermine him”.
Meanwhile, UK politicians and celebrities had called for an “immediate public inquiry into how to ensure a responsible press” following his death.
About 30,000 individuals signed a petition urging the prime minister to order an inquiry into how Mr Arday’s controversy was reported.
The request to the prime minister, which claimed he died after “two weeks of relentless harassment”, originated from Good Law Project, the organisation that represented Mr Arday before his death.
